Drop pitches millennial-focused rewards app on #TheDisruptors

This week on The Disruptors, Derrick Fung, CEO of Drop, pitched Drop’s loyalty app, which allows users to earn rewards and points on top of what current rewards programs already offer.

Drop’s users, which consist mostly of millennials, can link their credit or debit cards to the app and earn points through their day-to-day spending at places like Tim Hortons and Starbucks. As users collect more points, they can redeem them for rewards directly on the app from retailers like Amazon and lululemon.

Fung said Drop is disruptive because it aggregates data directly from consumers and eliminates having to use physical credit and debit cards when checking out at a store.

“We actually go directly to the consumer for the data, so instead of building into the point-of-sale terminals of these retailers, we get the data directly from the consumer,” said Fung. “The second thing…is that everything is directly on the mobile app. There’s no more taking out a plastic physical card when you’re checking out at the point-of-sale. Everything happens automatically.”

Co-host Amber Kanwar said Drop is reducing the friction that consumers face when they collect points from different retailers through multiple app. The company is also gathering important data that will be useful to retailers and marketers, she added.

“They solve the problem for the consumer,” said Kanwar. “The companies probably aren’t too thrilled about it because they lose that direct access to the customer but at the same time, they’re going to be building up this wealth of data where places like Starbucks are going to have no choice but to say ‘Yes I want access to that.’”

Amira Zubairi is a staff writer and content creator at BetaKit with a strong interest in Canadian startup, business, and legal tech news. In her free time, Amira indulges in baking desserts, working out, and watching legal shows.